Sample essay topic, essay writing: Western Civilization - 895 words

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Modern European Weaponry:Shaping Changes in
WarfareThe human being has always found a way to
inflict harm in the name of defense or simple
destruction, for survival, or for the annihilation
of the enemy. All within the realm of warfare, we
have found a way to make sticks and stones break
bones, and everything between simple technologies
to the advent of gunpowder, has changed
civilization and the way we live. Throughout this
essay we will look at the simple truths that come
from an evolution in weaponry. How it affected the
social connections of those times, and the way
society was forced to wage war with each other. By
the time men had figured out that a piece of rock
can mean the difference between life and death,
weapons became an important part of human kind.
Dating back to prehistoric times, men could only
use the tools they could find within their means
of symbiotic existence with their surroundings. It
wouldn't take long, relatively speaking, until we
would figure out how to sophisticate our means of
defense and battle.

After the Neolithic Age, men
were able to ascertain the effectiveness of metal
versus the effectiveness of such crude weapons
like those made of wood and/or stone. People
realized that it was easier to attack the enemy
with precision with such advances as a dagger that
would pierce through skin as opposed to smashing
the enemy with larger chunks of weapons.According
to the Bible, the Israelite youth David opposed
the Philistine hero Goliath with sling and stone.
"Am I a dog," Goliath sneered, "that you come to
me with sticks (Rogers, p. 126)." A fighter is
only as good as his weapon. Weapons are developed
based on the threat of the enemy. The development
of the helmet for instance, made the mace
obsolete, then a sharpened axe was developed to
defeat the helmet. The evolution of metals from
bronze to iron was a huge leap in the art of war
and still remains an important factor in modern
weapons.

Although the accuracy and reliability has
changed, the idea of killing the enemy without
exposing friendliness is the main focus of all
modern weapons. The Archers of Rome are today's
artillerymen. The better-armed soldier is sure to
be the winner. Weapons became so sophisticated
that they also became a symbol of status. By the
time knights began to battle, the distinctions
were made according to the amount of metals that
they possessed. This also was true for the
royalty.

It seemed that weapons reached an amazing
level of excellence when it came down to the
weapons made of metal or stone, but nobody would
be prepared for the advent of gunpowder. Gunpowder
would ultimately define the way we do warfare to
this day. A radical change came from the use of
guns in battle, drastically changing the rankings
of men put forth of battle. There was also a shift
in the importance of jobs created by the specific
needs of a war situation. Iron became an important
tool and so did the ironworkers whom had the
responsibility to provide the means to create
successful canons, fortifications, etc. etc.

for
the war cause. The movement of troops and supplies
had changed from movements of thousands over
hundreds of miles, like the Summerians through
Mesopotamia to massive movements of tens of
thousands over thousands of miles by the Romans.
The coordinated movement of soldiers and supplies
by land and sea that was utilized by the Romans,
is still very much the same techniques we use
today to push far into territories and maintain
footholds. The movement of armies to the
battlefield was only part of the evolution of
warfare and movement. The tactics that followed
after the development of the Chariot in warfare by
Sargon the Great changed the face of war forever
(Guertner, p. 6-7). The use of quick strikes for
shock value and decisive strikes are still being
perceived today with modern cavalry and tank
crews.

These concepts date back to the Summarians
but are just as effective today. The development
of logistics along with movements remains the
backbone of success.As we have seen, civilization
will always be in a constant search for more
destructive weapons, and this is something that
will never end. Ultimately, it will become our
undoing when continents disappear in the blink of
an eye, and with the touch of a button. In the end
it will not be a question of whether it will
change or not, it will more than likely be a about
the constant race for far more technological
weapons, and with recent chemical and biological
weapons, it will be hard to discover how far we
will go. We can only hope that the balance between
defense and destruction is not tipped over to the
latter, and this is a distant hope that anyone
that has been in contact with warfare and weapons
should have. Charles, O.W.

1,2004]. King, M. (2001). Western
Civilization: A Social and Cultural History. New
Jersey: Calmann & King Ltd.Rogers, C.J. (1995).
The Military Revolution Debate: Readings on the
Military Transformation of Early Modern Europe.
Westview Press..